What does the future hold for India?

India is a place of superlatives. It’s home to the world’s fifth-largest economy. Its population, at over 1.4 billion people, has surpassed China’s to become the largest in the world. And that population is young: at a median age of 27.6, Indians are on average more than ten years younger than the citizens of most other major economies. In 2024, India also held the world’s largest democratic elections, in which 642 million people cast their ballots. Now that a new national government has been sworn in for a five-year term, its leaders have renewed their commitment to several economic goals. The government is expected to unveil its specific plans in July as part of its annual budget, including the following:

• achieving 8 percent GDP growth each year in the next decade and growing India’s GDP to $19 trillion by 2047
• creating 90 million jobs by 2030 and 600 million jobs by 2047
• investing about $600 billion annually to transition to a net-zero world by 2050
• raising income sixfold to over $12,000 per capita

Achieving these goals will require consistent, concerted effort and focus from a wide variety of stakeholders. In this Explainer, we examine several of these goals and explore how specific industries can help achieve them.